Capo
Administrator
Posts: 7,847
|
Post by Capo on Feb 2, 2007 0:49:42 GMT
The Public Enemy William A. Wellman 1931 USA A petty thief rises to a top gangster during Prohibition. Cagney, in the role that made him, is very good in an otherwise exhausting film. The editing is infuriating: scenes go on for far too long and sometimes take ages to get going. Exposition is tedious and wasteful, and wrap-ups are long-awaited. It seems to be caught inbetween being comprehensive about and skirting over its main character. In the end, little can be said to redeem its severely lacking narrative drive: rhythm is shoddy, characters are boringly unattractive, and it has little in the way of menace or emotional resonance.
|
|